Make a Professional Looking Website

While making a website its essential that you keep these concepts in mind.

Text

1. Background does not interrupt the text.
2. Text is big enough to read, but not too big.
3. The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear.
4. Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen

Navigation

1. Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use.
2. Navigation is consistent throughout web site.
3. Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on.
4. Frames, if used, are not obtrusive.
5. A large site has an index or site map

Links

1. Link colors coordinate with page colors
2. Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor

Graphics

1. Buttons are not big and dorky.
2. Every graphic has an alt label.
3. Every graphic link has a matching text link.
4. Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors.
5. Animated graphics turn off by themselves.

General Design

1. Pages download quickly.
2. Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text.
3. Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages.